Written by

Jamie Samuelsen

Detroit Free Press Special Writer

Jamie Samuelsen, co-host of the “Jamie and Wojo” show at 6 p.m. weekdays on WXYT-FM (97.1), blogs for freep.com. His opinions do not necessarily reflect those of the Detroit Free Press nor its writers. You can reach him at jamsam22@gmail.com, follow him on Twitter @jamiesamuelsen and read more of his opinions at freep.com/jamie.

So Michigan and Michigan State are the lone undefeated teams in the Big Ten. Which team are you more impressed with?

Maybe Tom Izzo’s dream is finally coming true.

The Michigan State coach has suggested over the years that he’d love to see Michigan and Michigan State battling for elite status in the Big Ten and the country. He hoped that they could enjoy the same rarified air that Duke and North Carolina have enjoyed for decades - rivals not just for instate supremacy, but for national rankings as well.

You can debate just how serious Izzo is about this claim. I’ve long figured that he’d like Michigan State near the top of the mountain and Michigan down near the bottom. That’s normal behavior for any rival. But for now, these two schools are the only unbeatens in conference play and headed for a first place showdown Saturday night in East Lansing. Both have a little work to do between now and then. MSU hosts Indiana tonight. Michigan hosts Iowa Wednesday at the Crisler Center.

The surprise here is Michigan and head coach John Beilein deserves high marks for guiding the Wolverines to the 13-4 start. Gone from last year’s team is national player of the year Trey Burke and fellow first-round pick Tim Hardaway Jr. Also gone is center Mitch McGary, who broke out in the tournament last year and was a preseason All-American this year. But back surgery has shelved McGary for the foreseeable future (perhaps the season). And his absence has left Michigan with a very similar team to the one they had a year ago prior to McGary’s emergence.

This is a dangerous team with great perimeter shooters. When those shooters are on, Michigan can play with anyone, as they showed Saturday night with their 77-70 win at Wisconsin. When those shooters are off, Michigan might struggle. The Wolverines face a brutal stretch in the next ten games that includes home games against Iowa, Michigan State and Wisconsin and road games against MSU, Iowa and Ohio State. All those teams are ranked in the top 20.

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The upside is that Jordan Morgan and Jon Horford are veterans who can still provide some presence in the post. And sophomore Nik Stauskas is proving to be a lot more than some YouTube sensation who can scorch from the perimeter. Yes, he’s still a gunner who can shoot with the best. But he’s also shown a toughness to take the ball to the basket and set up teammates.

Stauskas leads the Big Ten in scoring (18.8). He’s first on the Wolverines roster with 3.8 assists a game and fifth with 3.7 rebounds. His ball-handling skills forced Wisconsin’s Nigel Hayes to respect the drive just enough to allow Stauskas to hit the dagger, step back three in Madison on Saturday night which put Michigan up 71-67 with less than a minute to go in the game.

There is little surprise about Michigan State, which is living up to all the preseason hype and prognostication. The Spartans are off to the best start in program history (17-1) and are a consensus pick among national writers to not only return to the Final Four, but to grab the second national title of the Izzo era. That’s putting a lot on a team when we haven’t even turned the calendars over to February yet. But MSU has that look so far.

Comparing any Spartans team to the 2000 champions is the ultimate praise, but also the ultimate jinx. So I apologize in advance to any superstitious Spartans in advance. But the more I watch this team, the more I see the similarities. Follow me here for a minute. Mateen Cleaves was the MVP and the driving force. Morris Peterson was clearly the most talented player. Andre Hutson provided a vital role in the post. And Charlie Bell may have been the most underrated and underappreciated player on the team and in the country. Can you picture that team winning it all without any one of those players? Can you picture them emerging from Auburn Hills after brutal battles with Syracuse and Iowa State? I know I can’t.

Now take this year’s team. Keith Appling is the point guard and the unquestioned leader. Adreian Payne is the most talented player with NBA lottery ability. Gary Harris is the best shooter and his game will get him into the NBA lottery as well. Kenny Kaminski has become an important shooter. And I still think that Branden Dawson’s toughness and athleticism will win a game or two for the Spartans this winter.

This is a deep team that doesn’t just rely on one player. The good news for Izzo is that they can play without Payne for a stretch or have a player go cold and still win some games. The better news for Izzo is that any one of those players could go off on any given night and drive the Spartans to victory. There is strength in numbers in college basketball these days and Michigan State certainly has numbers.

The way this rivalry is going, it wouldn’t be a monumental shocker to see Michigan win on Saturday night. But as this season unfolds, the roles of these two teams are clear. Michigan is a scary team, which might be able to slay a giant or two come March. Michigan State is a giant, with enough talent to be incredibly hard to beat. And with Izzo’s track record for success, a run into April isn’t just a possibility, it’s more of an expectation.